Kendrick's spring debut Tuesday against the Yankees was anticlimactic. He allowed one run on three hits with a strikeout. His goal early in spring is to develop a feel for his two most important pitches: the sinker and change-up.

The sinker is what has made his career. The change-up, thrown a career-high 22.9 percent of the time last season, is what guaranteed his rotation spot.

A third pitch would help, too. Before the change-up, Kendrick used a cutter as his secondary pitch. He also throws a slider, but only rarely. That is a pitch he will play with later in spring.

Kendrick envisions his cutter and slider as interchangeable on a given day.

"My slider has been feeling pretty good in the bullpen," he said. "I threw one today to the first batter. I got a check swing. It was pretty close. It was a good pitch. I think it will keep getting better, for sure."

On Tuesday, Kendrick was just happy for the chance to throw in a game situation.

"I felt like I was really going to be upset if we got rained out," Kendrick said. "I felt like that Little League kid that just wanted to get out there. I used to cry when games used to get rained out. That's how I felt today."